Startup Founder’s Guide: Who Can Actually Help You Hire and When to Use Them
- Alona Groza
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
If you’re a founder trying to hire while raising, building, and shipping you’re not failing.
You’re just hiring without help.
The reality: Most founders don’t need a full-time recruiter.
But they do need help.
Here’s what we see again and again:
You’re pre-seed or seed stage
You need to hire 1–3 core people
You’re juggling product, fundraising, and team building
You don’t have time to source, screen, and close
And you’re Googling:
“How to hire without a recruiter”
“Should I use a recruiting agency?”
“Can I outsource hiring as a founder?”
“What’s the best way to find a founding engineer or PM?”
This guide breaks it all down who can actually help, what they cost, what they’re good for, and when to avoid them.
Why this guide matters in 2025
In today’s market:
Time-to-fill for early-stage tech roles is 42 days on average
One mis-hire costs startups up to $50K in wasted time and salary
Founders who try to hire solo often burn 6–8 weeks before asking for help
But the solution isn’t always “hire a recruiter.”Sometimes, you just need the right kind of assistant at the right time.
1. Do-it-Yourself Tools When You Want to Control the Process
Best for: Founders with time and hiring experience
Roles: First ICs (engineers, designers), freelancers, contract-to-hire
Tools to try:
Wellfound (AngelList): Startup-focused job board
Ashby: All-in-one ATS with early-stage benchmarks
Notion: Simple careers page + async test forms
LinkedIn Recruiter Lite: Manual sourcing + outreach
Homerun: Great for visual job posts
Pros:
Low cost
Full control
Good for testing early interest
Cons:
Time consuming
No support on screening, offer, or negotiation
High dropout if you don’t move fast
Use when: You’ve hired before or you’re only hiring 1–2 people max.
2. Freelance Hiring Assistants When You Need Sourcing, Not Strategy
Best for: Founders who know what they want, but not where to find it
Roles: Engineers, marketers, designers
These are independent sourcers or freelance recruiters who can:
Build a candidate list
Run first outreach
Hand off warm leads to you
Platforms to find them:
Toptal Talent Cloud
Rates:
$40–$90/hr
Often charged per candidate or campaign
Pros:
Fast sourcing
Can run in parallel to your work
Good for budget-conscious teams
Cons:
Don’t run interviews
Don’t help with closing or equity offers
Varies a lot by person
Use when: You know who you want, and just need someone to go find them.
3. Hiring Consultants or Startup Recruiters When You Need a Clear Process
Best for: Founders hiring for the first time, or burned by past mistakes
Roles: Founding engineers, PMs, product designers, first sales hire
These folks do:
Role scoping
Outreach strategy
Interview design
Candidate calibration
Closing support
They often work on a flat rate or milestone-based model, not contingency.
Examples:
Start Wise Hires — tailored hiring systems for early-stage tech teams
Wintr — UX & design hiring
Collective — recruiter network for startups
Rates:
$2K–$6K per role
Or monthly retainers (1–3 months)
Pros:
Built for startups
Process + execution
Usually founder-friendly and async
Сons:
Not the cheapest
Requires founder involvement at key points
Hard to scale for 10+ roles (use when <5)
Use when: You want help that’s structured, strategic, and not bloated.
4. Contingency Agencies When You Need to Fill One Role Fast (But Be Careful)
Best for: Series A+ teams with urgent needs and some budget
Roles: Head of Sales, Staff Engineer, VP Product
Contingency recruiters only get paid if you hire their candidate. It’s common in the US, but often overused.
Fee:
20–30% of annual salary (can hit $30K–$50K per hire)
Pros:
You don’t pay if you don’t hire
They do everything from sourcing to closing
Cons:
Incentivised to close fast, not always right
Can overload your inbox with unqualified CVs
Some ghost if they lose momentum
Use when: You’ve already scoped the role and need support closing one top-tier hire fast.
5. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) When You Need to Build a Team
Best for: Startups hiring 5–20 people in <6 months
Roles: Mix of IC and leadership roles
Stage: Post-Seed or Series A
This is full-stack help:
Embedded recruiter(s)
Weekly reporting
Tools + ATS
Founder coaching
Providers:
Cost:
$8K–$15K/month
Sometimes equity split for longer retainers
Use when: You’re scaling and want to build hiring muscle in-house with outside support.
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